Doing time

This documentary traces the experiences of a group of inmates in Bordeaux Jail who are participants in the radio show, Souverains anonymes. Under the guidance of Mohamed Lotfi the inmates are given an opportunity to express themselves in regular studio activities where their need to be heard, catalysed by the jail environment and their experiences before and during their imprisonment, is nurtured and given form through words. A portrait of daily prison life and the inmates that participate in Lotfi’s program, a varied, sometimes tragic, sometimes hopeful picture of prison life and the circumstances that brought each person there is evoked. Through interviews with inmates, footage of the studio sessions and interviews with Lotfi and professional guests to the program this documentary investigates the drive for and discovery of freedom through language and the release of personal expression.